k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
deleted because my question was answered
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Does neutering early affect size?
- Thread starter k9kreationz
- Start date
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
Trapp just started lifting his leg this week.
It was like a huge announcement..Brian came in and said "baby your dog is not a puppy anymore".He saw him lift his leg outside,and thought he should share the "good" news~
LOL. How old is Trapp now? Maybe I should've waited until Koji lifted his leg, cuz even though he see's Miko doing it, it's one thing he didn't pick up.
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
Testosterone/estrogen are responsible for closing the growth plates on the long bones. Studies have shown that in unaltered dogs the GP close around 43 wks, around 55wks in those altered at 7 months and about 60wks in those altered at 7wks. The last GP to close is the lower legs ie tibia(10-14 months) so we see the biggest difference there. How much bigger a dog would get we don't know.
With shelties we can guess using growth charts if a pup is going oversize at a young age. Sometimes we hope they stay in but most of the time if they are over at 9 wks, 10wks and so on they'll but oversized as adults reguardless if they are spayed or neutered.
BTW Justice(intact) didn't lift his leg until he was 3 years old and an in heat bitch was at the house. He lifts his leg all the time now. I don't think it occured to him before.So the leg lifting has nothing to do if with the dog being neutered or not.
See, I never even thought about that. And that makes sense about the legs. It would explain Koji's long legs. Maybe I should have neutered him later. Eh, I can't imagine it would've saved him 1.5". LOL
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
Just curious. What are their concerns? Like, they want to neuter early for the longer legs? Or they want to keep them intact longer so they conform to confirmation better?
Calliesmom
Moderator
keep them intact longer to allow regular growth and help everything develop correctly. something about early neuter dogs being more prone to cruciate ligament injuries.
Calliesmom
Moderator
yes, the best age for neutering? I've been wondering that too. I heard that border collie growth plates are closed by 10 months. anyone know when that happens for shelties???
k9kreationz
Forums Celebrity
Especially since before, they said 6 months is okay. Now vets are doing it earlier and earlier. They recommend 4 months. I guess it's because we think we don't want them to develop bad things associated with testosterone. But yeah, at what point are we sacrificing actual development? I mean, certain dogs I can understand. Shelties aren't typically aggressive, testosterone or not.
Calliesmom
Moderator
not that I've had a puppy recently. Danny was my last puppy before Cranberry and he was a baby in 1991. the vet that I went to then (when I lived in FL) recommended 9 months to allow full development. Danny was a mixed breed and I wonder if 9 months is too early for a sheltie. that is the earliest that I was thinking of for Cranberry but now I'm thinking wait a little longer???
